MassBytes Food Tour: El Pelon Taqueria

Vegivore Eats | Stone Fruit Salsa (by Julia)

The summer hand fruit selection is all about stone fruits: peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots.  The markets are literally overflowing, and once I buy a pound of one thing or another I can barely keep up...the fruit ripens to juicy excess seemingly right before my eyes.

I'll admit, I get wary of fruits like these; raw and sitting in my hanging basket hoping to be snatched up for a quick snack.  It just never seems to happen for me.  Just is not my go-to.  I suppose that, once you've bitten into an overripe peach, mealy and tasting of bad wine -- it's hard to get back on that horse. Yet I can't just walk away from the mounds of beautiful fruit at farm stands and farmer's market.  So here we are.

Typically I resort to baking a buckle, crisp or some other sort of hot goodie with it, or slicing and freezing for later smoothie use.  The other day though, upon lugging home a bunch of Shiro plums and white nectarines from Kimball Fruit Farm (Pepperell, MA), I plunked the bags down on the counter and surveyed my tiny galley kitchen.  It was already in complete disarray from cooking for a client.  There was no way, after the day I'd had, that A) I was about to clean and disinfect that whole room, just to muck it up again with bowls and spatulas galore B) sweat with the oven on C) deal with the steps of making a freakin' buckle!

I settled on salsa.  Lovely, minimal effort (and dish-use), cool fruit salsa.  The colors and flavors of local nectarines and plums kicked up with the spice of hot pepper, the pop of citrus, cilantro and ginger, the pungent grounding of garlic and the hearty cold of a seedless cucumber.  Sweet heat, refreshing and tart.  This one's a keeper.

I'll admit, I don't measure when making my salsas (though I did put together a recipe below for those not like me).  I add and taste, add a bit more, taste, use what I have and not much else.  Bold flavors complement the simplicity of what's going on here -- and sweet potato chips from Food Should Taste Good (Needham, MA) just push the whole snack over the top.  At its best about an hour after you make it, this bowl of goodness is unusual, sunny, bountiful and hits all the high notes.

STONE FRUIT SALSA

serves just you, cuz you're not gonna wanna share

(just kidding, serves 3-4)

4 ripe plums, washed but unpeeled, pitted and cubed

4 ripe nectarines, washed but unpeeled, pitted and cubed

1/2 seedless cuke, julienne or dice (avo would work well, too)

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

2"-3" thumb of fresh ginger, peeled* and finely grated

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 serrano pepper, seeded and minced

2T cilantro, leaves only, minced

coarse salt and black pepper to taste

opt: sugar as needed if your fruit is too tart

Combine all ingredients.  

Let it macerate, covered, in the fridge for about an hour, then enjoy with chips, crusty bread (like a weirdo's bruschetta), or a spoon!

...

PRO TIP: Even though this column focuses on fresh, seasonal vegetarian dishes (hence, Vegivore Eats), I cannot resist telling you how amazing this stuff is with grilled chicken!

* PRO TIP: I'd been peeling my ginger with a peeler for too long.

Making Late Night Snacks: Unique Twist on the Matzo Ball by Sarah Sparks

Making Late Night Snacks out of Matzo Balls

If you follow this blog, you know that I attempted to make Matzo Balls for my grandmother. I got a pretty decent score for my first time. 

Ended up throwing on some hot sauce and hot peppers.

Let's fast forward to right now.

As I rummaged through the fridge full of random perishables. I spotted the Tupperware container filled with matzo balls - my second attempt. I had no more broth, so Matzo Ball Soup was out. Hmmm. What do I do? My eyes kept landing on the salsa and sour cream.

"I do love an excuse to eat sour cream," I stated quietly out loud (mind you, my grandmother is sleeping).

I pulled the three items out and started to prepare a Jewish version of nachos. Sliced the balls and layered the other two ingredients on top. I, then, sat at the dining table and tried this outlandish combination.

The toppings masked most of the flavor of the matzo ball slices which served as a decent substitute for chips.

Matzo Ball Nachos

- Leftover Matzo Balls, sliced (used this recipe minus two eggs - still not perfect)
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce (optional)
- Pickled Hot Peppers, coarsely chopped (optional)

Heat matzo balls. Layer ingredients in order of mention. 

Food Porn: Chicken Enchilada Soup

Break a winter chill: tostada chips, salsa, and a bowl of hearty chicken enchilada soup.